The City of Hub was once a fairly practical name: a place where trade routes both north and south of the Angory Mountains could meet not far from the Atlean Sea to the northeast and, roughly, a river-ride from the Onnian Sea to the south. In those days, it would be a rough scrabble place full of loud merchants. Rare furs from Fellig. Expensive ore from Yarlken. Fine jewelry from the craftsman in Nallstay. Perfumes from Guillarme. Fishmarkets from Thelmion. The amount of trade was only limited by the walls which grew twice in those early days. Scholars from the Old Khelian Empire describe it taking days to walk through all the stalls in Hub.
Centuries of growth lead to decay. Increases in both technology and magic meant the city was being left more and more with detritus. Some merchants came together and founded the Hub Center for Renovation. The inner core of the city was rebuilt to be a school of learning not only rivaling but exceeding anything that Old Khalid had to offer. Shops and stalls in the center were pushed out while shops and stalls along the outer edges were pushed until the three concentric circles were less a sign of the city's past growth but a new order.
At its core was the Hub University. Around it, expensive shops and theaters fed off the rich children being taught inside. Around that, housing and parks for the people who chose to live in a town surprisingly distant from the center of the Empire. Over centuries, new traditions and flows of custom developed. A town scattered like seed past the easy grasp of its overseers became a new sort of center. The even further flung towns and burbs and cities that fed goods and services into the Empire often passed through a town full of up-and-coming mages, magistrates, lawyers, and businessfolk. Guilds and Unions grew in prestige.
When Old Khelia fell, Hub survived. It very nearly thrived. Innovations were frequent. It made a convenient stopping ground for people in transit. The creatures of the dark found themselves pushed back by the walls and by the cleverness of the students. The Order was not founded in Hub but many of its generals and warriors found their feet there.
When the Hub learned Ulets found the resonance that stopped all magic - dark and light - they returned to the University to perfect their craft. The thin Veil guarding Yarlken became the thicker Veils protecting Hub. Once again, it was a place where many would flock. Trade and business could flow. Over the next two decades a steady march of progress brought more and more sophisticated Towers north and west into Khalid City. The great many Burbs in between were first testing grounds for improvements in technology. Until Khalid City itself was lit and Hub was again slightly forgotten by the folks who consider Khalid to be the only city that matters.
One cannot shake the strength of Hub that easily, though. The second branch of the Order's Guardians were added to Hub, a branch known to be more active than those in Khalid. The University saw many new recruits. Railroads. Telegraphs. Industrial experiments. Hub provided a life beyond magic.
Proud Hub. Where etiquette is its the chief of its many languages. Where hierarchy is the natural song. Proper behavior is the watchword. Where those with some power move with grace and decorum and those with true power play and prance like the University students they once were. Where markets sell goods available almost nowhere else while poorer children walk outside the main walls picking flowers.
And at its core is the University. Which also stands as the Orders Second Branch. Students and Guardians walking side by side.
The center of the University is the old Library, retaining books from before the Five Generations. The largest collection of magical grimoires still standing. The large collection of technological manifestos. Rooms full of maps and journals and laws for places that no longer exist. It is perhaps the greatest weapon in the entire New Empire. A wealth of knowledge available...for a price.
Dire warnings about the protections afforded the stacks are written in stark signage. Rules and regulations dominate many of its collections.
Still, students will be students.
== DOUG'S NOTES ==
Hub has been mentioned in pretty much every single episode of this series but outside some statements, a few maybe a bit contradictory, I have tried to leave space to see where it goes. When I started "The Stone Crack'd" story arc, I wanted to take a few minutes to just say, "This is Hub," and sat down and rolled a few prompts. What I ended up with worked just fine. If anything, it fit my expectations almost too well. That's ok, though.
In ways similar to how "
The Late Returners" was going to be a fairly simple Point A to Point B story that ended up diving into some lore, "The Stone Crack'd" has grown and expanded [currently up to 12 pages of actual play notes, roughly 2-3 episodes already, and likely be double that before it concludes]. It was meant to be "Arden finds the obelisk and..." but is now involving a couple of new characters, some new places within Hub, a couple of plot twists. A few facts worked into this introduction are things that were actually developed later. That's the joy of this new style of doing the actual play first.
I'll keep this one short because there are going to be some very "talky" episodes after this.
== ACTUAL PLAY NOTES ==
The idea is to start off in the City of Hub as Arden (and Izzia) investigate the obelisk that Vyryon Marel and his family/clan are searching for. Which leads to some interesting questions. What kind of place is Hub? Since Arden and his team tend to be an “away” group, sent out to more remote sections either inside or outside of the Veil, there have mostly only been hints about the area. The fact that Yarlken, the spot where the first tower was built and tested, took decades to get brought into the full Merged Veil so that the focus could be on restoring the capital and its support towns/burbs shows the Arcane Order have a tendency to prioritize the “empire.” Hub, being somewhat distant and now, along with Yarlken, at the southeastern edge, is treated as a big second class despite being the origin of the technology.
So what kind of city is this? We know it is an education-focused town. Its real world inspiration was Oxford, UK. What about the vibe of the place?
City Descriptors: 88 Success 44 Isolated + 5 Beautiful 4 Average.
Civilization Descriptors: 17 Careful 40 Dominant + 18 Careless 64 Mighty
Going with that vibe, then:
Even after the time of the Five Generations, Hub is a town of old, somewhat worn and beaten beauty. Old Empire Architecture still dominates. Stores occupy buildings dating back hundreds of years. Old theaters are now business centers, old manors are now theaters, and old business centers house apartments for families and students. Many of the structures are aligned in three great rings with sturdy walls in between each. At the center is the campus and research district. In the second ring are businesses and entertainment (and the Arcane Order’s Hub headquarters). On the outer ring are houses, restaurants, and some smaller businesses. The town’s name is quite literal: the town is build in concentric circles around the central hub of the ancient university. The town is a place of old money but also a place of academic isolation. Students here can spend years never going past the outer gate.
Despite the obvious wealth and age of the buildings and art, time has not been completely kind. A 500 year mural will show cracks. Aqueducts that once brought in fresh water now sit dry. The layers of circles built on top of each other with new construction sometimes covering the old gives the whole thing a kind of muddled look.
The people are a bit harder to simplify. On one hand, the general ruling class (at least the richer class and upper middle class) folks tend to stress social graces, following of rules, etiquette, and a broad pattern of politeness. Many are here instead of Khalid City because they feel that that city is wicked and loud. That being said, the upper crust of Hub, the truly mighty, are known for all sorts of scandals and breaking the rules. Wild parties and deep conspiracies run rampant.
And how about the University Library, where the first scene will take place
Locations: 73 Protection 98 Warnings + 66 Old 31 Exclusive.
I think those two things fit right in with the other aspect of the city. An old place very much so unfriendly to outsiders. Full of rules and warnings. Also full of old protections (some negated by the Veil, some merely improved by the Order). An old family like the Ulet would be welcome, probably have donated some of the works inside, but it is not the kind of place that openly welcomes fools. Of course, students will be students.
== CREDITS ==
This game uses Tricubes Solo, the Tricubes one-sheet "The Guardians of the Shadow Frontier," [both by Richard Woolcock and Zadmar Games] and The Mythic Game Master Emulator (2nd Edition) [by Tana Pigeon].
Additional tables come from Cezar Capacle's Random Realities, Ben Milton's Maze Rats + Knave 2nd edition, Kevin Crawford's Without Numbers (primarily Worlds) + Scarlet Heroes, and Madeline Hale's Table Fables. Other sources should be be credited in the raw play notes.
Graphics come from a variety of sources. Pixabay is a source of some of the stock art and illustrations I use to create the original graphics.
The painting for this introductory session is
Thomas Malton II's High Street, Oxford. I have mentioned many times before that the real world 19th century Oxford, UK is the primary inspiration for Hub (a classic case of a placeholder name just becoming the name over time). This one feels the most like the Hub of my mind's eye: a great classical city aligned along three concentric circles.
Comments
Post a Comment